SPOTLIGHT ON TALENT: Southland students give it their all for the Stage Challenge and J Rock event at the Civic Theatre in Invercargill.

HUMBLED: Ruru Specialist School principal Erin Cairns has won a National Excellence in Leadership and Teaching award.

FRONTING UP: Grey Power national president Roy Reid leads a political panel discussion involving, from left, Green List MP Eugenie Sage, National's Waitaki MP Jacqui Dean and Labour MP Annette King on day two of the federation's general meeting and national conference in Invercargill.

FESTIVAL GEM: Tim Watts is the creator-actor behind Alvin Sputnik, which he presents at the Repertory Theatre.

POINT MADE: Invercargill filmmaker James Crisp is back in town after travelling to New York to see the US premiere of his short film The Good Neighbour.

READY, SET, GO: Former Southland man Mathew Broad, who started the Cnetral Southland College cross-country race, finished his run along the length of New Zealand. He ran the length in 35 days to raise money for St John - all in the name of his late grandfather who was a passionate supporter of St John.

SURPRISED: Alex Cottier and his mother, Vanessa. "It feels like they're covering themselves." Southern District Health Board bosses have started a review of an Arrowtown man's diagnosis delays at Queenstown's hospital after the Southland Times reported his mother's allegations of "atrocious" treatment.

ALL SET UP: Hamills Invercargill senior sales assistant Brendon Mortimore tries out a hide as eager hunters buy supplies to get ready for duckshooting season.

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY: Invercargill Rotary Club president Alice Pottinger and Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt with Filipino Rotary exchange visitors, clockwise from left, Trina Fernandez, Rocky Dizon, team leader Rudy Retirado, Madz Alsola, Angel Quianzon and Tin Sierte at the council offices. The group from the Philippines will spend 36 days in the South Island visiting different Rotary districts. A mixture of teachers, a financial analyst, a doctor, a photographer and an entrepreneur.

TIME FRAMED: Photographers Roger Wandless and Graham Dainty with their work for Transience: A Photographic Explanation of Time, at City Gallery in Invercargill.

HIS STORY: Rodger Trounson with the Headcases painting about him by artist Nigel Brown at the Transition Gallery in the SIT Arcade. One of the `headcases' who is undergoing chemotherapy, said it was a contribution from artists, writers and photographers that captured the story of each person.

DUCKED OUT FOR A SAUSAGE: Comedian Ewen Gilmore and Palat-a-bull owner Lyndon Tamblyn share a joke and a sausage at the Mai Mai Night. About 450 duck-hungry hunters were at the CRT Mai Mai Night at Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill to mark the start of the duckshooting season.

LIKE THIS: Lucy, 4, and Olivia Thomas, 3, meet Angelina Ballerina after the Royal New Zealand Ballet performance of Angelina Ballerina's Big Audition at the Civic Theatre.

QUACK QUACK: Central Otago Hunting and Fishing co-owner Larry Dougherty is aiming to shoot his share of ducks on opening day of duckshooting season.

GAME ON: Stadium trust chairman Acton Smith and stadium clerk of works Colin Gray inspect progress on the stadium. The Stadium Southland rebuild is back to full steam ahead, with the completion date now expected to be early 2013 - 10 months later than planned.

PROVIDING ANSWERS: Going Digital national manager Greg Harford and community adviser Dan Murphy are in Invercargill giving advice on going digital. The pair plan regular visits to the region in preparation for the digital switch-over in April 2013.

STRONG WORDS: NZ First leader Winston Peters and Grey Power president Roy Reid in Invercargill. The NZ First leader spoke to about 120 Grey Power members from throughout New Zealand at the organisation's three-day annual meeting at Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill.

ARABESQUE: Royal New Zealand Ballet dance educator Hannah Kaye shows budding young ballerinas some dance moves at the Invercargill library.

GRIM DISCOVERY: Detective Dougall Henderson, of the search and rescue team, with the personal locator beacon and the bladder from an inflatable raft belonging to the K-Cee.

WRECKAGE FOUND: A chopper from Southern Lakes Helicopters, flown by Richard Hayes, hovers over the wreck of the K-Cee as the fishing boat Contessa approaches. The wreck was located 18km off the Fiordland coast off Nancy Sound, about 35km north of where it is thought the boat went missing.

ON THE MOVE: Kings House Removal shifting the second of three Southern Institute of Technology IT houses in Esk St, Invercargill. The old SIT houses are being removed and will be replaced by new houses built by students. The houses had been used as office and teaching space, and film crews had also used them.

COASTGUARD PUTS CALL OUT: Riverton Coastguard president Allan Duston, left, and Invercargill ASB manager Wayne Ellis launch the annual Coastguard May Day appeal. There had been a national decrease in government funding, so more funding was needed because the Coastguard was called on a regular basis. ``We help boats that run out of fuel and at major events, such as the search for Easy Rider survivors.'' All funds raised would help with training, repairs and maintenance. Donations could be made at any ASB branch. On May 11, 2012 ASB staff and Coastguard volunteers will host a collection day in Invercargill.

TALKING IT THROUGH: Rape and Abuse Support Centre Southland education facilitator Natalie Bennie and support worker Sharleen Carran talk at the kitchen table at the Nelson St centre, where coffee mornings are held regularly.

AWESOME OPPORTUNITY: New Zealand singer-songwriter Annah Mac, second from right, takes a workshop at Southland Girls' High School. From left are Lily Jackson, 17, of Central Southland College, Nina Poelman, 14, and Lucy McLean, 14, both of Southland Girls' High.

TOO MUCH TIME: New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers executive member David Haynes, left, and Southland Fish & Game resource management officer Jacob Smyth are not happy the Southland District Council is getting extra time to provide further evidence.

DELIVERING THE MESSAGE: Grey Power national president Roy Reid speaks at the Grey Power general meeting and national conference at Ascot Park Hotel in Invercargill.

NOSY: Inquisitive alpacas will be the centre of attention in south Invercargill as part of the national Alpacas Day 2012.

HUNGRY: Buttsbury Alpacas owner Brian Butt is ready to show his alpacas in south Invercargill as part of the national Alpacas Day 2012.

FORCE OF NATURE: Storm watchers Matt and Paul Norris see the first of the cold season's storms rolling in over Oreti Beach. Much of Southland was struck with thundery, blustery weather as a cold snap swept through the region.

BEST OF THE BUNCH: David Paterson, 21, of Gordon Officer Ltd, has won the national panel beater of the year award - the golden hammer. David Paterson believed it was the first time the award was given to someone in Southland.

EVERY BIT HELPS: Salvation Army Family Store Sallies on Tay manager Mary Allott with some of the bedding and household items that are in demand. Welfare services in Invercargill are being stretched to their limits with an almost 200 per cent increase in food parcels needed from the Salvation Army for struggling residents during the past year.

ON STAGE: From left, glow-worm Moira Brew, centipede Christian Chien, Giant Peach Joshua Harris, James played by Ben Whatson, spider Natasha Boon and grasshopper Ben Wilmot (obscured) perform in the Cats Pyjamas Theatre production of James and the Giant Peach.

CHILLED: Shane Bolger, left, and Tim Smellie are starting to stock their fridge in western Southland with fresh home kill. Mr Smellie and Mr Bolger are turning the space into a meat processing plant for their home kill business. Other than Mr Bolger, there would be a meatpacker, and two boners working for the company and the meat processing market in Southland was big enough to accommodate them.

KEY ATTRACTION: Natasha Vlassenko and Oleg Stepanov perform Debussy's Petite Suite as part of the Southland Festival of the Arts at the Civic Theatre.

UPLIFTING: SIT drama students Jaimee Jennings (Aunt Sponge), Joshua Harris (the peach), Ben Watson (James), and Lucy Cheeseman (Aunt Spiker) gear up for their season of James and the Giant Peach.

REPRESENTING NZ: William Swan, 13, Nick Bodkin, 17, and Claire Yorkstone, 15, have been selected to go to the Tianjin International Children's Art and Culture Festival as part of a selected national youth brass band.

I LIKE THE WAY HE'S DONE THAT: Fiona Davis and Maria de Garnhan check out Eruas Place, an acrylic painting in John Husband's exhibition, Looking Back: 50 Years of Painting and Drawing, at Anderson Park Art Gallery. Part of the Southland Festival of the Arts, Husband's collection will feature at the gallery until May 27, 2012.

TASTE TREAT: Nepal Night Organisation Committee members Bijoy Regmi, Sameer Shrestha and Keshav Khatiwada get ready for the event. Invercargill's Nepal community is gearing up to put on a cultural feast of food and art to raise funds for educational programmes in Nepal.

TURNING THE PAGE: You can't judge a book by its cover, by Claire Gourlay and Jan Kinnaird. Wearable art, variety performances and a multitude of sellout events raised the bar at the 28th Arrowtown Autumn Festival.

TIDE OUT: The lakebed of Lake Wakatipu is exposed at Frankton as dry weather continues.